Federal and state law enforcement officials making up the Los Angeles High Intensity Financial Crime Area Task Force last week raided the recently renovated Bicycle Hotel and Casino in Bell Gardens, California, shutting the casino down for about 24 hours. No arrests were reported, although apparently, it was part of a money laundering investigation.
Agents, many of them wearing heavy black vests, burst into the casino early in the morning. As an armored truck arrived agents waved it toward the front entrance. The task force includes officers from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the Internal Revenue Service, the California Department of Justice’s bureau of gambling control and the U.S. attorney’s office.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement issued the following statement: “The search warrant issued by a United States magistrate judge was filed under seal in relation to an ongoing investigation,” adding, “Because the warrant is under seal, we are not able to comment on the scope or nature of the investigation.”
Officers seized thousands of dollars’ worth of financial records, the Los Angeles Times reported.
It is highly unusual for investigators to shut down a casino. I. Nelson Rose, a law professor and an expert on gaming law based at the Whittier Law School, told the Times: “From a public relations point of view, this was horrible. The agents closed the active casino. Some players talked about cheating. But this is far from cheating. This is about someone passing money through an establishment.”
The Bank Secrecy Act requires casinos to maintain extensive records to prevent criminals from using them to launder large amounts of cash. They must report details of transactions large than $10,000 during a 24-hour period.
The casino was founded in the mid-1980s. In 1990 it was seized by federal authorities after it was alleged that it was partially funded with laundered drug money.
